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WHL Brandon Wheat Kings

Wheat Kings Wrap up Season Series with Red Deer

February 1, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release


In some ways, it's a shame the Brandon Wheat Kings and Red Deer Rebels only meet once more in the 2023-24 regular season. The games between the two so far have been hard-fought and intense, and the season series has been close.

Through the first three games between the two teams, the Rebels have won twice in Red Deer while the Wheat Kings have won the only game in Brandon. Every game has ended in regulation, and the Rebels have outscored the Wheat Kings by the narrowest margin (9-8) in those three contests.

"They've all been close games," said Wheat Kings head coach and GM Marty Murray. "The two in Red Deer were one-goal games and the one here we played a pretty solid game. It's been a back and forth series, it's been good hockey, playoff type hockey, and all three games were close."

The regular season series might wrap up between the two teams on February 2, but they might not be done with one another at that point. The way the standings are shaping up, it's more than possible the two teams meet in the post season as well.

"It's really jamming up right now in the standings," Murray said. "Four through ten are extremely tight. It's a battle every night here down the stretch."

On their most recent road swing, the Wheat Kings dealt with some key injuries both on the back end and between the pipes with Quinn Mantei and Carson Bjarnason both out of the lineup. The team isn't a hundred percent certain yet of their status for the coming weekend, and if they're absent the team will need greater contributions from throughout the roster.

"We have enough veteran presence that it's time for guys to step up," Murray said. "It's that time of year where we need guys to step outside their comfort zone. We're not asking anybody to put the team on their back, but as a group if everybody is a little bit better than we come in with a decent D corps."

The Wheat Kings move quickly to the road once they're done with the Rebels, and they don't exactly ease into it. First up on Saturday night are the Swift Current Broncos, and then the Saskatoon Blades in Saskatoon the very next day at 4:00.

"It's a wild weekend," Murray said. "Two weekends in a row with three-in-threes are not ideal, but it is what it is. We'll worry about tomorrow, the Red Deer game, and then turn the page to the road, but all three games are going to be tests."

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